Ashtray

ABSTRACT

An improved structure of an ashtray includes a body, a hollowed rim at the center of the body, an ash disk placed on the bottom of the hollowed rim, and multiple needles erected at equal distance from one another on the bottom of the hollowed rim; the ash disk being provided with multiple pores in quantity and arrangement same as that of those needles; the ash disk penetrating through those needles before being secured on the bottom of the hollowed rim; a burning butt being fast and automatically killed by inserting the butt upright into tips of those needles; a burning butt when not desired to be put out firmly resting at a certain inclination on tips of those needles; and dead butts and ashes being easily cleaned by removing the ash disk to dump them.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(a) Field of the Invention

The present invention is related to an ashtray, and more particularly to one that ensures of killing a live cigarette butt and allows easy cleaning.

(b) Description of the Prior Art

A conventional ashtray usually has provided a flat surface surrounded by a rim for a smoker to kill a live cigarette butt by twisting it on the flat surface; and the rim is disposed with multiple notches on edges of the rim to serve rests for one or a plurality of cigarette. However, the conventional ashtray is not always sufficient to immediately and absolutely kills a live cigarette butt since it is not provided with a device exclusively for easy killing of the butt. The remaining smokes may become an annoyance while it takes a smoker to twist the cigarette butt several round on the flat surface of the ashtray just to kill it. Besides the residual butt not immediately killed may well kindle the packing paper of other butts and the fire may extend further to objects surrounding the ashtray. In more serious cases, a hard dying cigarette butt may drop on the floor to wind up a fire disaster. Accordingly, the conventional ashtray is not practical, presents cleaning problem, and is not convenient to use.

To improve, various designs or constructions for an astray provided with automatic killing a live cigarette butt have been introduced. An improved structure of an ashtray provides multiple pits in a diameter that corresponds to that of a cigarette for the smoker to simply insert the cigarette butt into the pit for an immediately killing. Another improvement involves having an independent space below the flat surface that can be closed up or reduce entrance of oxygen into the space so to put out the cigarette butt dropped into the space by taking advantage of suffocating (being deprived of oxygen) the live butt.

Nonetheless, the pit is not necessarily to fit all brands of cigarettes, and it prevents easy cleaning thus to result in a mess in a short time. As for another improvement of ashtray provided with an independent space is found with the following flaws:

1. Small amount of oxygen remains to be admitted into the space plus the residual air in the space, any burning cigarette butt is prevented from an instant kill. Accordingly, smokes do escape out of the space to fill the room with smokes and odors to make the occupant(s) very uncomfortable.

2. The structure to combine the ashtray and the enclosed space below is very complicated and prevents easy cleaning while reporting a comparatively incidence of failure. While keeping sediments and odors of cigarette butts, the closure of the independent space is getting poor and the amount of escaping smokes increases by day.

3. The volume of the independent space is very limited to either get jammed or prevent input of extra butt to cause further inconvenience to its user and frequently render the ashtray useless.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary purpose of the present invention is to provide an improved structure of an ashtray that allows safe, fast and automatic operation for an immediate killing of a burning cigarette butt to prevent residual smokes. To achieve the purpose, the present invention is comprised of multiple needles erected on a flat surface of the ashtray and the height of each needle is not greater than the depth of the flat surface surrounded by the edges of the ashtray. A smoker wishing to kill the butt simply inserts the butt onto the needles for their tips and shanks to fast and automatically destroy burning point of the butt thus to kill the but.

Another purpose of the present invention is to provide an improved structure of an ashtray that allows easy cleaning. To achieve the purpose, a porous ash disk in the same shape as but in slightly smaller size than that of the hollowed rim is secured in the hollowed rim with the number of pores equal to that of those needles erected on the bottom of the hollowed rim and to allow each needle to merely pass through its respective hole provided on the ash disk. Accordingly, to clean ashtray, simply pick up the ash dish to dump ash and butts left on the disk and then replace the ash disk into the hollowed rim.

Another purpose yet of the present invention is to provide an improved structure of an ashtray that prevents ash from spreading around. To achieve the purpose, those multiple needles erected on the bottom of the hollowed rim allow ash from burning cigarette resting upon the edge of the ashtray to drop through gaps among those needles and quietly stay there to prevent ash from spreading around.

Another purpose yet of the present invention is to provide an improved structure of an ashtray that holds steady a burning cigarette resting on the edge of the ashtray for safety concerns. To achieve the purpose, a burning cigarette when resting on the edge of the ashtray is held in place without rolling around or falling onto the floor to cause fire disaster since the cigarette rests directly upon tips of those needles at a certain inclination. The cigarette keeps on burning when resting on those tips of needles erected in the hollowed rim as its weight is constantly shared by those tips without being smuggled.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention with a cigarette resting thereupon.

FIG. 3-A is a sectional view showing an operating status of the preferred embodiment to put out a burning cigarette.

FIG. 3-B is a sectional view showing another operating status of the preferred embodiment to put out a burning cigarette.

FIG. 3-C is a sectional view showing that an ash disk is removed for cleaning purpose.

FIG. 4-A is a sectional view showing a status of a burning cigarette rests in the ashtray of the present invention.

FIG. 4-B is a sectional view showing another status of a burning cigarette rests in the ashtray of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, an improved structure of an ashtray is essentially comprised of a body 2 provided with a hollowed rim 21 in the middle section of the body 2 to accommodate an ash disk 3 in the same shape as that of the hollowed rim 21 and in a size slightly smaller than that of the hollowed rim 21 so to merely stride over and locate in the hollowed rim 21.

Wherein, multiple needles 211 with each in height not exceed the depth of the hollowed rim 21 are erected as equal spacing from one another on the bottom of the hollowed rim 21 either by plantation, insertion or molding. When a butt S1 of a cigarette S disregarding how long the residual length of the cigarette has not yet been burnt is inserted upright onto those tips of needles, tips and shanks of those needles 211 receiving the insertion of the butt will destroy the burning point of the cigarette S as illustrated in FIGS. 3-A and 3-B to fast and automatically kill the burning butt within a matter of a couple of seconds while preventing any residual smokes from lingering around.

When the burning cigarette S is not smoked for a moment, it rests on the edge of the body 2 of the ashtray as illustrated in FIG. 4-A with ash S2 dropping onto gaps among those needles 211 and stay there without spreading around. Since the cigarette S is not directly inserted onto tips of those needles 211, the burning point of the cigarette is not destroyed and thus the cigarette S keeps on burning and waiting for its user to pick it up again. Meanwhile, the burning cigarette S is secured in position by tips of those needles 211 since the weight of the remaining cigarette S1 is constantly shared by those needles 211 to prevent the cigarette from rolling around or falling on the floor to trigger of fire disaster.

As also illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the ash disk 3 is made in a shape same as and in a size slightly smaller than that of the hollowed rim 21 to allow the ash disk 3 to be merely inserted into the hollowed rim 21. Multiple pores are provided on the ash disk in the same quantity and arrangement of that provided for the erected needles 211 so to permit each pore receiving insertion of each needle 211 for the ash disk 3 to be placed on the bottom of the hollowed rim 21 to achieve the same purpose of having a fast and automatic killing of the burning cigarette S as illustrated in FIGS. 3-A and 3-B.

To clean the ashtray, simply remove the ash disk 3 from the hollowed rim 21 and dump ashes and dead cigarette butts SA left on the ash disk 3 or those inserted directly onto tips of those needles 211, and then restore the ash disk in the hollowed rim 21.

Accordingly, the present invention allows easy cleaning of the hollowed rim 21 and the ash disk 3 while providing safety and convenient operation of fast killing a burning cigarette butt and secured means to rest a burning cigarette. 

1. An ashtray is comprised of a body, a hollowed rim, an ash disk, and multiple needles; the hollowed rim being disposed at the center of the body; the ash disk being made in the same shape as and in size slightly smaller than that of the hollowed rim; those needles being erected on the bottom of the hollowed rim at equal distance from one another and the height of each needle being not greater than the depth of the hollowed rim; the ash disk being provided with multiple pores in quantity and arrangement same as that of those needles; the ash disk being placed into the hollowed rim by penetrating through those needles and held in position on the bottom of the hollowed rim. 